


Truths and Farewells

by SuperJimmy978



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: F/F, Post-Canon for Awakening, Pre-Canon for Fates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:48:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24561868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperJimmy978/pseuds/SuperJimmy978
Summary: Severa tried to leave Ylisse behind without saying goodbye to her family, or to Lucina, the one she loved with all her heart. But she was coerced into at least saying farewell to her family. But as she sat down to enjoy one last meal with them, an unexpected visitor stopped by...
Relationships: Lucina/Serena | Severa, Sumia/Tiamo | Cordelia
Kudos: 30





	Truths and Farewells

Severa played with one of her pigtails as she stood atop a hillside. 

An evening sky was encompassing the land, the sun lighting everything up with its orange hue. There was a small, gentle breeze to be felt, and Severa saw some birds soaring above. Green grass colored the ground with no end in sight, and the occasional small tree decorated a few areas of the plains. She wore an outfit that she had crafted herself. There was a dark brown tunic with golden diamonds over a gray dress, with black pants and leather brown gloves and boots. Standing next to her were Owain and Inigo, both chatting with each other about where they were about to head off. Severa’s sights, however, were on the distant farm below the hillside. 

After the war with Grima came to an end, her mothers were granted a stretch of land upon which to raise Pegasi. Sumia stayed at the farm and devoted her days to raising the pegasi, while Cordelia remained in service as a knight of the Exalt. And Severa could faintly see them in the distance. Some of the pegasi were flying above the wooden farmhouse, while others were helping themselves to the grass below. Sumia and Cordelia were both at the front of the farmhouse, chatting about something with Henry. Henry was standing opposite them and laughing with the two mothers, though why, Severa didn’t know. 

And she didn’t plan to find out. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to say goodbye?” Inigo said, making Severa jolt up. 

Severa looked up at Inigo and sneered. “Yes! I am sure!” 

Owain stretched his arms. “I had a most joyous farewell with my parents and Chrom! They were sad to see me go, but I wish to go on this legendary adventure with the two of you! It will be one for the ages!” 

“My parents got really worked up over me leaving, too,” Inigo added on as Severa crossed her arms. “But I had to do it. I couldn’t leave without them knowing where I went. I really think you should go down there and have one last meal with your family before heading to the new world.” 

Severa thought about it, about the new kingdom that they had discovered and planned to travel to. “It would just be extremely painful.” 

“Severa, think about how selfish you’re being!” Owain exclaimed, pointing at her. “Think about how painful it would be for them if they didn’t know where you went! We went through so much trouble to save our parents’ lives! At the very least, we owe them farewells! And…” 

Owain paused. How unlike him, Severa thought, raising an eyebrow. 

“And what?” 

“And are you sure you don’t want to say goodbye to Lucina?!” 

Severa snarled and rapidly headed over towards Owain and Inigo. “No! Absolutely not! If I don’t want to say goodbye to my family, what makes you think I want to see Lucina one more time?!” 

Inigo let out a chuckle. Severa narrowed her eyes at him. 

“Look, come on now,” Inigo said, raising a finger up. “Did you really think Owain and I didn’t see it? You would stare at Lucina quite passionately…” 

Severa could feel her cheeks beginning to burn when Inigo said that. Not that it wasn’t true. Lucina was a glowing, able-bodied, and commanding. Whenever she trained with her sword, her muscles shone through with each slash she struck against the dummies. When she spoke, her voice radiated through the air unlike anything Severa had ever heard before. And when she locked eyes with Severa, with that toned and slim face…the mere image of it sent butterflies storming through Severa’s stomach. 

“Well…well…I-I-I…she never liked me back anyway!” Severa barked towards the two. 

Owain looked away. “How can you be so sure! You never really know until you actually talk about with the one you love.” 

“Oh, don’t give me that crap, Owain! Sometimes, you don’t need to tell them the truth! Sometimes, you just know that it won’t work out, so there’s no point in confessing!”

Inigo piped in, walking closer to Severa. “Well, if I may pipe in again…” 

“No!” Severa exclaimed, pointing at Inigo. “I certainly don’t need advice about love from you.” 

Inigo smirked. “I guess I can’t really fault you for that.” 

That smirk faded away almost as soon as it had appeared, and Inigo added on, “But…I truly think that you’ll regret this for the rest of your life. I guess it’s too late to seek out Lucina, but Owain and I came here just to get you to spend one final night with your mothers, and with Cynthia. Please, for their sake.” 

Before Severa could reply to that, a blue portal opened up. Blue energy began radiating nearby, distorting the surrounding atmosphere. And out of the portal came an elderly, balding man with a light brown cane. This man a thick white beard below his chin, and he sported white and dark orange garbs. This man went by ‘Old Hubba’ and he looked at the three teenagers with a smile. 

“I hope you are all ready to leave Ylisse and explore the land of Nohr!” Old Hubba shouted, pressing his cane onto the ground. 

Inigo returned the smile. “Yes, I certainly am. Well, I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.” 

Owain raised his arms up into the air. “I am most ready for this amazing new chapter of my life! Severa, however, has some unfinished business that must absolutely be taken care of!” 

Severa clenched her fists tightly, doing the same with her teeth. “Owain, you stupid piece of -”

“I’m just saying! She refuses to say goodbye to her family!” 

Old Hubba gasped. “Why, this is unacceptable! Severa, if you are to do into a new world, the least you can do is -”

Severa growled. “Okay, fine! Gawds, I’ll do it, just to make you all stop complaining!” 

That smile returned to Old Hubba’s face. “Good. Now, time works weirdly in the Outrrealm, so Inigo and Owain can leave now, and I can bring you to their time and location when you are finally ready.” 

Severa pursed her lips. “Fine. I’ll just get this over with already.” 

Old Hubba smiled. “Attagirl.” 

“Yeah, yeah, just go so I can do this already.” 

Inigo and Owain nodded at Severa before they walked into the portal. Old Hubba also stepped forward towards it, but he turned around to look at Severa. “When you are ready, just say my name and I will. Now go have that final dinner.” 

And with that, Old Hubba disappeared into the portal. The portal emanated its energy for just a few moments longer, before it disappeared as quickly as the snap of one’s fingers.

A cold breeze made Severa shiver ever so slightly. She took another look down at the hill, where Cordelia and Sumia both continued to converse with Henry about something. Though she could not see their faces very well, the small jolt Sumia made showed Severa that her mothers were having a good conversation. So happy, unaware of the oncoming news that would change everything. 

Severa began walking down the hill. It was a grassy and smooth hill, so each step Severa took made it on the ground with no trouble. There were three points where she allowed herself to slide, but it was only a few minutes before she was all the way down the hill. She brushed her shoulders before continuing her walk towards the ranch.

Her family grew larger and larger as she got closer, and the snorts and grunts of the pegasi got louder. She saw Sumia in her simple and smooth-looking green dress with bar shoes and a white gown underneath, and Cordelia in the outfit of a Pegasus Knight Captain. She bore the golden plating that Phila before her had worn, as well as red clothing all around. She also wore a brown belt across her waist, and long riding boots of the same color. It wasn’t long before she could faintly hear what they were saying. 

“I promise you, I didn’t sacrifice anything to get you these carrots this time,” Henry stated as he extended his arms out. 

Cordelia crossed her own arms around her body. “You better not have. I don’t want these carrots coming to us at the cost of a deer or two’s life.” 

“Don’t worry. I went to Miriel’s and she helped me find a spell that didn’t need any animals.” 

“Oh, that’s wonderful to hear,” Sumia began, clasping her hands and widening her smile. “I had trouble sleeping for several nights when we found out, no matter how tightly Cordelia would hold me. And also -”

Whatever Sumia was going to say, it was interrupted when she happened to see Severa walking over. Cordelia and Henry were quick to turn their heads around and look at the pig-tailed mercenary. 

“Severa, honey, oh my gosh!” Sumia exclaimed, her face lighting up even more. “We weren’t expecting to see you tonight!” 

She ran over to Severa and wrapped her arms tightly around her daughter. Severa groaned and narrowed her eyes at this. “I haven’t heard from you in over two weeks! Don’t you do that to me again.” 

Severa rolled her eyes but hugged her mom back anyway back anyway. Her ribs were beginning to feel like they would squish and burst into a thousand pieces. “Sorry about that, Mother. I’ve been…busy…” 

Henry walked over to Severa. “Hey, Severa, I don’t know how interested you are in magic, but are there any issues you have that require an…” Henry said, before he stopped for a moment to smirk. “…extraordinary, and possibly very, very bloody, solution?” 

Severa forced a chuckle out of herself, while shaking her head. “No, no, I do not. And Henry, I need to speak with my family about some very personal matters.” 

Henry raised his hands up. “Say no more, I’ll be on my way out! Gonna go see Ricken, and he and I are going to have the time of our lives! Nya ha ha!” 

And with that, Henry walked away and let the ranch, leaving Severa alone with her family. Sumia held her arm and shoulder. “Honey, is everything alright? What do you need to talk about?” 

“May we head inside? Is dinner ready?” 

Cordelia looked down at her wife and her daughter, answering with, “Yes, it should be ready in a few minutes. And of course we can go inside, dear. Cynthia is inside, watching your two younger selves. Whatever you need.” 

And with that, the family began to head towards the house. While they did this, Severa felt her heart beginning to pound with excruciating force, as she prepared to drop this life-changing news onto her unknowing loved ones.  
\--

Severa sat down at the kitchen table, clasping her hands and twiddling her fingers together. She absorbed her settings. Cordelia and Sumia lived in a modest-sized farmhouse, coated with gray bricks. The lovebirds could have likely gotten a much bigger house if they wanted to, due to their help in bringing down Grima and preventing the apocalypse, but this was the home they chose instead. There was a fireplace not too far from the kitchen, with chairs seated near the flames.

Cynthia, wearing a silver version of Sumia’s dress, held the baby version of herself; the Severa and Cynthia of this timeline had been born about a year ago, with the help of magic from Lissa and Henry. Cynthia’s baby version looked exactly like her, to be expected. 

“Hi there, littler me! How has your day been? Has it not been just awesome?!” Cynthia shouted. 

Baby Severa, meanwhile, was crawling around the floor, playing with a lion toy. Severa stared down at her younger self, and pursed her lips; she tried to see if she could look at Baby Severa for at least a minute this time. She stared intently at Baby Severa, leaning in for a moment…and then she had to look away. Staring at her younger self just sent many knots tightening around Severa’s stomach. 

“So what gives?!” Cynthia stated, causing Severa to jolt up. “You haven’t written to me or to our moms in forever! We need to stick together, you know?!” 

Hearing Cynthia say that last sentence made the knots twist even further. 

Sumia tapped Cynthia’s shoulder. “Now, now, sweetie. Severa likely has her reasons.”

Sumia then walked over to Cordelia, who had taken off her golden plating. Cordelia was eyeing the pottage stew the two were making together. “Hey, love, can you be a dear and grab the salt?” Sumia asked, pointing up at the top cabinet. “Since, you know, you’re the only one here tall enough to reach it? And you always have to be mean and put it all the way back up there?” 

Cordelia chuckled. “Yes, of course I’ll bring it down. I promise I’ll stop putting them up there.” 

“Oh, you always say that!” Sumia exclaimed, slapping the towering redhead’s shoulder. 

“I guess I do, don’t I? Perhaps I mean it this time.” 

Severa watched her two parents continue to talk, as Cordelia reached her arm up and grabbed the salt they needed for their meal. Severa could faintly recall similar interactions from the original timeline. She could picture herself as a toddler, playing with the very animal toys her baby self was playing with now, and watching her mothers cook their meals for the day. Before the Risen came along and struck the two down, that is. 

“And another thing, sis!” Cynthia shouted again, causing Severa to jolt up again. 

“GAWDS, Cynthia, can you ever lower your voice?!” 

“Sorry! But how come you never hold your baby self!” 

Severa rolled her eyes. “It just feels…weird, you know. Holding yourself, but not really holding yourself…” 

Cynthia giggled. “Oh, come on! I love holding baby me!” she said, as baby Cynthia wrapped her arms around her older self’s shoulders. “Even Lucina’s become accustomed to it, from what I hear! Her latest letter said that she had to babysit her baby self the other night! Sounds like fun! Wait until we babysit our younger selves one day!” 

As Cynthia babbled on and on and on, Severa stared off into space while twiddling her fingers. From the corner of her eye, she could see Cordelia and Sumia seemingly about to finish up the meal, whatever it was. She could see Cordelia smirk down at Sumia, over something the latter said, and then kiss the top of the brunette’s forehead. 

“Alright, girls! Dinner’s ready!” Cordelia said, turning her attention over to all of her daughters. 

Sumia grinned. “And I made the most wonderful desert to enjoy afterwards!” 

Severa stood up and moved so that various plates of bear meat, with apples and pears on the side, could be spread across the table. There were two bowls of pap food for the two babies to enjoy while the rest would feast on bears and fruit. 

Cynthia’s face perked up. “It has been far too long since I’ve enjoyed your delicious bear meat!” 

Cordelia and Sumia sat down on one side of the table, Severa reclaimed her spot on the other side, and Cynthia sat down next to her sister, while the babies were seated on opposite sides of the tables. They were quick to begin eating, and when Severa tasted the warm, juicy bear meat, she couldn’t help but let out an ‘mmm’. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back. She was trying to savor the taste for a few moments. And to think, this was the last time, at least for a very long time, that she would be able to enjoy the bear meat her parents made.

“So, anyone know what the heck’s going on in Fodlan?!” Cynthia shouted right after swallowing down her own meal. “I know it’s a faraway continent, but I’ve heard, like, four conflicting accounts of what’s going on in over there. Well, what everyone agrees on is -”

Cordelia raised her finger up. “Hush now, Cynthia. We can talk about Fodlan’s tumultuous state in a few minutes. Severa came here because she had some big news, and she wanted to reveal it to us. I believe she has a lot to get off her chest.” 

Sumia leaned in clasping her hands. “So, Severa, sweetheart. What is going on? You know you can talk to me and Cordelia about anything.” 

Severa took a moment to gulp and swallow. This was it. The moment she had tried so desperately to avoided. She had pictured herself in the new world, with Owain and Inigo, never having had to say farewell to her family. Or to the beautiful, stunning Lucina. Whatever anguish those farewells would have caused were almost avoided, but now…

Severa stared down at the table and sighed. 

“I’m…I’m…I’m leaving Ylisse….not just the country. I’m leaving the continent entirely…” 

Sumia jumped at this, while Cordelia and Cynthia’s eyes widened. There was a clang, which was Cynthia dropping her fork onto the table. Then Severa’s sister gasped.

“You’re LEAVING?!” Cynthia shouted, standing up from her seat. “Where on this good earth are you going? You’re not going to Fodlan, are you? It’s war torn, that's the only thing people can agree on! Wait, are you going to Valm? Judgral? I hear Almyra is a very nice place, and we don’t know much about Dagda…oh my gods, are you going to explore Dagda?!” 

Severa gritted her teeth, and her face was turning red from Cynthia’s sheer loudness. “No, Cynthia! Just shut up and let me finish!!!” 

Severa took a moment to breathe. Baby Cynthia began to cry, and so Sumia grabbed her and began rocking her around. Cordelia, meanwhile narrowed her eyes. Severa knew what that look meant.

“Do not talk to your sister that way!” Cordelia stated, leaning in and pointing at her daughter. She then moved her attention from Severa to Cynthia. “And Cynthia, let Severa finish. It can place a lot of pressure under people when you bombard them with questions.” 

Severa took a deep breath before continuing on. “I misspoke. I’m not just leaving Ylisse. I’m leaving to go to an entirely new world.” 

Now Cordelia was the one who created a clang with the drop of her fork. Sumia’s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets, and Cynthia’s jaw looked like it was going to tear itself off of her from how wide it was dropping. 

Cordelia jolted up of the table. “You’re doing what now?! You just decided to up and go to a completely new world?! Just like that?!” 

Severa wanted to shake her head. This was why she didn’t want to talk to her family about it. She sneered to herself, and cracked her knuckles. 

“Okay, I don’t need you to lecture me,” Severa stated, turning around towards the front door. “I’ll see myself out!” 

“Over my dead body you will!” Cynthia said, charging over to Severa and grabbing her shoulders. Cynthia pulled Severa back to the table, shooting her a death glare in the process. “You don’t get to just drop something that massive on us and walk out! At the very, least, you can tell us why you plan to go to a new world!” 

Severa raised her head up, groaning. “I just want to go to a new world. Gawds!” 

“That’s a pretty big decision to just make,” Sumia said, still rocking baby Cynthia. “What is this new world? Is it anything like ours? Do alternate versions of us live there? How are you planning to get there? What’s so special about this world that makes you want to -”

“GAWDS, I JUST WANT TO LEAVE! IS THAT SO HARD TO GET?!” 

Severa tried to form two fists and take a deep breath after snapping, but before she could, she heard Cordelia slam her hands onto the table. Cordelia’s eyes were narrowed and she had her head slightly raised down, while she tightly pursed her lip. Deep down, Severa’s insides twisted when she saw this. She remembered what this meant as a kid; when Cordelia bore that face, it would be followed by a stern chewing out, and then followed by spending the rest of the day in her room. The latter couldn’t happen since Severa didn’t technically live here, but she still braced herself. 

Sumia handed baby Cynthia over to her older counterpart and tried to place her hands on Cordelia’s shoulders as the latter began speed walking over to Severa. 

“Love, don’t make this any worse,” Sumia said, clenching her teeth trying to keep her grip on Cordelia. 

But Cordelia didn’t acknowledge Sumia’s attempts. She kept those burning, focused eyes on Severa, and then she raised her hands up. 

“What’s not hard is telling us why you’re leaving!!!” Cordelia shouted, shaking her hands around. “You come here, and you tell us that you’re just up and going to another dimension! And for all we know, you might not come back for ages!” 

Cordelia’s teeth clenched. She continued on with, “You and Cynthia are our pride and joy; both you two and the babies! Sumia and I would do anything to make sure you have the best life possible! So you don’t get to just leave here right after dropping this on us! And you don’t get to snap at Sumia when she just wants to know where you’re going! You’re going to stop with this attitude, and you will do it RIGHT NOW!” 

Cordelia spent several moments taking deep breaths. Cynthia backed away, rocking her baby self, while baby Severa still sat at the table, completely silent. Sumia was massaging Cordelia’s shoulders as the redheaded woman tried to collect herself. 

“You’ve made your point now,” Sumia said, her face a frown. “Just breathe, Cordelia. Wherever Severa is going, this is the beginning of a new chapter for us. We shouldn’t start it by ripping each other’s heads off. Severa needs to explain herself, yes, but just breathe, and then no more yelling from anyone. Breathe.” 

Cordelia took a final breath, before she looked down at Sumia and smiled. Sumia pressed her head against Cordelia’s shoulder, and the two intertwined their fingers. 

“You’re right, you’re right,” Cordelia said, closing her eyes and smiling. “I also don’t want to sent Severa off screaming and hating us. Thank you, honey. I don’t know what I would do without you.” 

That whole time, Severa had been rapidly trembling. Breathing heavily, she looked at her knuckles, and frantically cracked them. Her eyes were beginning to get watery, but she tried to push back the tears. She snorted, and watched as her entire family set their eyes upon her. After a moment that seemed to last an eternity, Severa could no longer fight it, and the tears began streaming out her eyes like thundering rain. 

“I-I-I-I’m sorr-rrr-y,” Severa burst out with, burying her face in her hands. “I love you all! I love you all so much! I was torn over whether or not I should even come say goodbye, and I can never apologize enough for that!” 

Severa darted over towards her mothers, wrapping her arms around both of them. “I don’t see myself having much of a life in this world! It’s nothing against any of you! I’ll come visit you all someday, I promise! I’ve just felt lost because I don’t know what to do now that Grima is gone, and then there’s Lucina! Just thinking about her is painful!”

There was a long silence as Cordelia and Sumia both wrapped their arms around Severa, patting and rubbing her as she sobbed. In this moment, Severa thought of when she would be able to see her family again. Whatever happened to her, Owain, and Inigo in the world they were going to, would she be able to contact Old Hubba? Would he smile and open up a portal, a portal that she could walk through and come back to this exact spot? Where her family, including this timeline’s version of her, would run towards her and give her a big family hug, that she would relish and not let go of for ages? And Lucina…now that she had mentioned the name of her love, she had to wonder if Lucina would try to come see her? Severa was forced to ask herself how many miles she was willing to run to avoid the one who would never reciprocate her feelings. 

She pulled away from her mothers, sniffling; her eyes still felt soaked. 

“So you do like Lucina,” Cynthia said, finally speaking up. “I knew it! But is she really part of the reason you’re leaving?” 

Severa nodded. “She is. She’s the most stunning, beautiful, and amazing person I’ve ever met. I didn’t get to talk to her much when we went back in time, and that pained me every day. There seems to be this distance between us, and I can’t take it anymore! It’s not the whole reason, but it helped with my decision.” 

Cordelia closed her eyes and sighed. “Honey, I know how unrequited love feels, and how much it hurts,” she began. “My situation was rather…notorious, I know. But I never once thought of moving to a different world. Instead, I carried on, and one day I realized…” She paused for a moment, and set her eyes down onto Sumia, smiling. “…I realized that my true soulmate was right in front of me my whole life.” 

Sumia giggled and turned away, blushing. “Oh, you…” 

Severa had to nod to that. Just a few minutes ago, she would have pointed out that Cordelia didn’t have to live through the world going to hell, then go back in time to stop such an event from occurring, and then feel lost afterwards on top of having unrequited love. But instead, she simply bopped her head up and down. 

“Yeah, yeah…” Severa said, staring down at the ground. “I know. But my thing with Lucina isn’t the main reason. I just feel lost, and I want to do something new. My love for her is just the final push I need to go forward with this step of my life.” 

“Well, at the very least, we need to know where you’re going. And how you’re getting there,” Sumia said, placing her hands on Severa’s shoulders. “Please.”

Severa nodded again. She pulled out a map of the world she was planning to go to. It had been given to her by Old Hubba, and she explained to her family how Old Hubba would the one taking her, Owain, and Inigo to this new world. The map was dirty and aged, but it still showed the continents of the world she was going to; Tellius, Magvel, and Elibe all revealed themselves in the map of this other world; but Severa pointed at the land she was really going to. It was known as ‘Nohr’, a mythic land in this world but very much real in this other world. It shared a landmass with ‘Hoshido’, but Owain and Ingio really wanted to go to Nohr just because it seemed cooler, so that’s where they were going.

When she was done explaining herself, Severa rolled up the map. She tucked it way, and when she looked back, she saw the eyes of her loved ones getting misty. 

“Cordelia and I can’t stop you…” Sumia began, beginning to sniffle. “But just know that whenever you come back to visit, even if it takes a lifetime, we will always have you in our hearts, and -”

Then there was frantic knocking on the door. 

“Who could that be?” Cynthia asked, tilting her head. 

Severa groaned. “I’ll get it, I’ll get it…” 

Severa imagined herself barking at whoever was at the door, telling them that she was having a big moment with her family and they were ruining it, and they needed to go away. It mattered not whether it was a complete stranger, or an old friend from the Shepherds. Severa clenched her teeth, for she simply did not have time for this. She opened the door, and opened her mouth, preparing to shoo this person away. But when she saw their face, she tightly connected her lips back together, and her eyes felt like they were about to pop out. Severa tried not to fluster and blush, with all of her willpower.

For it was Lucina at the door. 

“Hello there, Severa. I’m glad I wasn’t too late.” 

It was her, in the flesh, right down to wearing the same attire she would wear during the war. The tall, athletic, long-haired, and stunning Lucina locked her eyes onto Severa, and Severa could feel her heart pounding like mad once more. 

The rest of Severa’s family began walking over to Lucina. 

“Hello there, Lucina,” Cordelia stated, standing by Severa’s side. “This is a pleasant surprise.” 

“What brings you here?” Sumia asked, standing by Severa’s other side. “I imagine life in Ylisstol must keep you very busy.” 

Lucina chuckled. It was so rare to hear that soft, warm chuckle come out of Lucina that it made Severa’s heart pound even stronger. “Yes, yes it certainly does. But this is urgent. There are some things I want to discuss with Severa.” 

Lucina refocused her attention onto the pig-tailed redhead. “Severa, would you be willing to step outside?” 

Severa inhaled, and then exhaled. “Y-y-yes. Absolutely. W-we can absolutely talk o-outside.” 

Severa looked back at her family, and nodded to them, before stepping back outside.  
\--

The evening sky was gone, replaced by the dark night sky. Dozens upon dozens of stars shined throughout the sky. Severa tilted her head back and looked up at all of them for a few moments, wanting an excuse to not make eye contact with Lucina. But this couldn’t be avoided forever. Severa closed her eyes, and took one more deep breath. Then she looked at Lucina, who was pursing her lip. It was only now that Severa realized that Lucina had brought with her a large bag. It must have contained something important, with how gently Lucina was placing it down onto the ground, right besides the house. Lucina then eyed Severa. 

“I’ll…I’ll cut right to,” Lucina began, cracking her knuckles. “Inigo and Owain told me about your plans.” 

Severa sighed heavily. She had hoped that they could at least do some small talk, or that she could find a way out of telling Lucina the exact truth. But the down-to-business look on Lucina’s face expressed that this is not how it would be going down. 

Severa nodded, while hanging her head low. “I see.” 

“I really wish you would have come and said goodbye. I mean, I-I get it…” 

Severa looked back up to see Lucina making motions with her hands while pacing around. “I know we didn’t talk that much when we went back in time. I wasn’t deliberately avoiding you. It just seemed that I never got a chance to have an actual conversation with you. I’m sorry for that.” 

Severa gulped, her heart pounding heavier and faster with every passing moment. No going back now. 

“The truth is…” Severa began, her voice soft and quiet. “The truth is that I often avoided you. I don’t dislike you. Quite the opposite. I admire you, look up to you, even. But we all held you on such a high pedestal that it felt weird being around you.” 

Severa kicked her feet around while continuing with, “I feel really bad about it, but I don’t think we can change the past anymore.” 

“I don’t know if we can or not, but here’s what I’m trying to get at. I won’t stop you from going to this new world. That is your decision to make, even if it’s very risky. I just wanted to say that…..I will miss you all. I will miss Owain, I will miss Inigo, and I will miss you. Very dearly.” 

Even after bawling her eyes out in front of her family, Severa still found herself having to push back tears. And not only that, but she resisted the urge to lunge herself towards Lucina, bury her head in her shoulder, and confess how deep her love for her really was. 

Lucina sighed again. “As I said, I won’t stop you. This is your choice to make, not mine. But there is something I must tell you. If I don’t, it will hurt for the rest of my life.”

Lucina took several steps closer over to Severa, who flustered at how close the former was to her now. Despite the chilly wind, Severa could feel sweat pouring down from her head. Could this be going where she thought, or even hoped, it might be going? 

“I love you, Severa.” 

When Lucina said those words, Severa swore she could feel a thousand bricks crashing down upon her. Never, in a million years, did she think Lucina would say that her. Every time she had a fantasy about such a thing, she brushed it aside, telling herself that it would never, ever happen. So, for it to have actually become a reality… 

Lucina’s eyes got watery, while a smile formed onto her face. “I always thought you were very cute and pretty, even when we were little. But more than that, I deeply admired your determination to make your own name for yourself. I know you felt like you were in the shadow of your family. When you decided to become a mercenary instead of a Pegasus Knight, just to hammer that in…I loved that. I’m not sure why, I just did. And I still do.” 

Severa began exhaling and inhaling sharply, before she made that earlier fantasy a reality, leaping over towards Lucina and wrapping her arms around her. 

“I love you, too!” Severa said, her voice slightly muffled by Lucina’s clothing. “IalwayshaveeversinceIwaslittlebutInever -”

“Whoa, whoa, slow down,” Lucina said, pulling Severa about an inch away. She placed her hands firmly on Severa’s shoulders, and the latter took another deep breath. 

“I never thought this day would come,” Severa continued, locking her eyes up towards Lucina’s. “Part of why I was going to leave was because it was painful thinking that you would never love me back. But now, I don’t know what to do…” 

Lucina smiled, placing her hand on Severa’s cheeks. She let that hand linger, which only made Severa’s cheeks burn brighter. “Do what you feel is right.” 

Severa sniffled. Then, an idea floated into her mind. She shuddered at how this might go, but there was no use in fighting it now. 

“Come with us, Lucina!” Severa exclaimed, clasping her hands onto the taller girl’s shoulders. “We don’t belong in this world anymore! Imagine it! Us, traveling through Nohr, together, tell me that doesn’t sound wonderful!” 

Acting on impulse, Severa grabbed Lucina’s hand and squeezed it with all her strength. Lucina’s smile no longer reached her eyes. The blue-haired swordswoman looked away

“That…that is tempting…” Lucina said, squeezing Severa’s hand back. “But I must help out this world. Well, I was about to leave Ylisstol myself a few weeks ago. My plan was to say my farewells to my younger self and then to my family. Then I would reach out to you and the others, and I would head off. But right as I tried to say goodbye to my younger self, my parents caught me.” 

Lucina took a breath before continuing on. “They begged me to stay, saying that they will always treasure me as much as the other Lucina, and that I help make their lives whole. And that they want me by their side as they lead Ylisse into a brighter future. I couldn’t bear to leave afterwards. And others having been asking for my guidance in building a better world. I can’t go.” 

Lucina sniffled. “I’m so sorry.” 

Severa sniffled right back. “I…I understand.” 

Lucina pulled away and walked over to the bag that she had brought along with her. She pulled out the item, revealing it to be a crimson shoulder shield, with yellow tinted across it. She extended her arms, trying to hand the shield over to Severa. 

“Please, take this with you,” Lucina said, as Severa stepped forward. “I know it’s not much, but I wanted to give it to you before you left.” 

Severa grabbed the shield from Lucina’s hands, and looked at her shoulder. It would fit perfectly. 

“I know it’s just one shield, but I couldn’t have another one made in time. No matter where we go, and no matter how long it takes before you return, and no matter who else we may meet, I will always have a place for you in my heart.” 

Severa tingled when Lucina placed both of her hands onto Severa’s cheeks. 

“And nothing will ever change that.” 

After saying that, Lucina wrapped her arms around the redhead. Severa grinned ear-to-ear; on the inside, she was dancing with absolute joy and delight, the likes of which the world had never seen before. “I will wear it every day, in your honor! I promise! And you will always be in my heart as well! Nothing will change that! I mean it.” 

Severa and Lucina’s eyes stared into one another for a few moments. Severa looked up at that toned and slim face she admired for so long. So long had she lost herself gazing at Lucina, but to be here now, in her arms, with her so close…it made Severa grin wider than she had ever grinned in the past. She imagined this moment never coming to an end. They wouldn’t have to go down their separate paths; instead they could stay here, together, forever. 

Before Severa knew it, she and Lucina reached in for a kiss. Lucina’s lips were warm and moist, and Severa kept their lips together for as long as she could. She wanted every second to feel like it was the best of her life. But it was only about a minute or two before the two pulled away from each other. They looked at each other; no words were needed. Instead, they tightened their grips on one another, with Severa smothering her face into Lucina’s shoulder. 

For just this night, they could be together. For just this night, Severa could pretend that she wasn’t going to a whole new world. For just this night, she could imagine herself coming back to Lucina one day and growing old with her. 

And for just this night, she could live out the fantasy she had created in her mind for as long as she could possibly remember.  
\--

In this moment, Severa saw her whole family, and Lucina, standing before her now. Old Hubba was behind her, ready to take her to the land of Nohr. She now wore the shield that Lucina had given her just minutes before. It sat proudly on her shoulder. 

Severa took one last glimpse at all of them. Sumia was holding baby Severa, Cynthia held her younger self in her arms, and Cordelia had her arm wrapped around Sumia. Lucina stood by them, with her arms crossed. All of them bore smiles on their faces, and Severa couldn’t help but return the look. Her eyes were beginning to get watery. She prepared to turn around, to leave this world behind for good…but then she saw her younger self go ga-ga at her. Severa took a good long look at her baby self. Her dotty face was so full of happiness and hope, and she extended her arms out towards her adult self. 

Severa could no longer help herself. She walked over to Sumia and extended her arms out, grabbing hold of baby Severa. Severa never thought, in all her days, that she would be doing this. But she held a tight grip on this alternate version of her, the one who would never to live through the hell and torment that she was forced through, the one who could actually live a normal life, and patted her back. 

“May you live the best life you possibly can,” Severa said, smiling ear-to-ear. “If I find out anyone has troubled you when I come visit, I will make short work of them. I promise.”

She looked back at her family, while Sumia going ‘awww’ over the whole thing. 

“No matter when you come back, we will shower you with all the love we couldn’t give you while you were away,” Sumia stated clasping her hands. 

“But we will always think of you, and we will always be wishing you well,” Cordelia added on. 

Cynthia walked over to Severa and slapped her shoulder, while keeping her grip on baby Cynthia. “You better come back one day! I will be very, very sad if you don’t!” 

Severa chuckled, handing her other self back over to Sumia. “I will. I don’t know when, but one day, I will,” she said, before looking over to Lucina. She stared into the latter’s ocean-colored eyes, for what would be the last time in a very long time. “And nothing will stop me from doing so.” 

She stepped forward towards Lucina, grabbing her hand. They squeezed each other’s hands as tightly as they could. “Take care of yourself. Please,” Lucina said, kissing Severa’s forehead. 

It was a few moments before Severa pulled away. She stepped back, taking a good look at everyone for one final time, seeing their radiating and shining faces, before she looked over to Old Hubba and nodded readily. 

“Alright, Severa. Prepare yourself,” Old Hubba said as he re-opened the portal Severa had seen earlier that day. Severa kept her eyes squarely on the portal and walked towards it, until she crossed through to the other side. 

It was instantaneous. The low fields of her family’s Pegasus farm were replaced by the thick trees of an vast forest. The night sky was swapped out for a gray and cloudy evening. A stream could be heard trickling and trickling every moment. Insects were buzzing around. And a deer could be seen in the distance, but only for a moment, before it ran off. When Severa looked over her shoulder, the portal was gone. Her family, and her love, left behind. Severa still felt thousands of little knots twisting across her stomach. Who knows what perils would befall them while she was away. And who knows what perils would plant themselves into her own path. To these thoughts, Severa took a deep breath. She knew, in her heart, that this is what she had to do. 

“Hey, Severa!” Owain exclaimed from the side, causing Severa to jump and stiffen. She looked over and saw him and Inigo. She had not realized that they were so close.

Owain let out a laugh. “Or should I call you Selena, now? Man, are you sure you don’t want to go by a different name? Odin is a most appropriate name for me, and ‘Laslow’ is at least wildly different from ‘Inigo’! Come now, do show some more creativity!” 

Severa groaned. “Oh, shut up. Selena is the name I want to go by, and it is the name I am going by!” 

Inigo chuckled. “If that’s what you want to do, I guess. So, how did it go?” 

Severa only now realized that her eyes were still a tad watery. She sniffled, as her last meal with her family and her confession to Lucina all came racing back to the forefront of her mind. That ear-to-ear smile returned to her face. “It was…amazing. I will tell you all about it later.” 

“Halt! Who goes there!” 

That voice was deep, but not commanding. Severa looked around, and she quickly found the source of that voice. A blond man coated in red armor, with blue clothing underneath as well as shades of white around the top of his armor, came charging over towards them on a horse. He whipped the reigns of the horse to get it to stop, but it neighed loudly, and stood on its hind legs. The man was bucked off his horse and collapsed onto the ground. 

He grunted. “Curse you, Lady Luck! Can’t you ever be on my side?!” 

Severa, Owain, and Ingio all rushed over to the man, but he immediately got back onto his feet, brushing the dirt off of his armor. 

“I’m sorry for the lackluster first impression,” the man stated, sighing. Severa took a good look at him. He was a towering and bulky man, with eyes the same ocean blue as Lucina’s. He sported the squarest jaw that she had ever seen on any person. He looked down at the three and laughed. 

“You three….you do not look like commoners, but what are you doing here in the middle of the woods? Are you lost? Well, it’s a good thing I’m here! My name is Arthur, and I was here taking care of some bandits! Do you need assistance? In the name of justice, I will help you! …Assuming you’re not bandits yourselves, that is.” 

Severa exchanged glances with Inigo and Owain before looking back at Arthur. This was it. This was the true start of the next chapter in their lives. 

“Yes, we are lost,” Severa began, bracing herself to begin this path. “You could say this is new territory for this. Would you be willing to show us the way to Windmire?”

She hoped that she had gotten the Nohrian capital’s name right. This was confirmed when Arthur laughed again. 

“Of course, I can! I shall lead the way!” he exclaimed, getting back on his horse. “…Sorry that I can’t get you any horses, though. Fortunately, Windmire is not too far away!” 

Severa let out an ‘hmm’. “Horses would be really nice, but don’t worry about it. Don’t worry about it at all.”


End file.
